Articles by David Nield, Freelance Contributor

Dave is a freelance tech journalist who has been writing about gadgets, apps and the web for more than two decades. Based out of Stockport, England, on TechRadar you'll find him covering news, features and reviews, particularly for phones, tablets and wearables. Working to ensure our breaking news coverage is the best in the business over weekends, David also has bylines at Gizmodo, T3, PopSci and a few other places besides, as well as being many years editing the likes of PC Explorer and The Hardware Handbook.

Articles by: David Nield

The DIY energy boom is here — 30 US states are planning to legalize plug-in solar tech, as home battery installations quietly hit a record high

By David Nield Published 12 July 26

Plug-in solar gives residents a way to save money on electricity without the expense of rooftop solar panel installations.

'We're so close to the streamers inventing television': Disney+ is reportedly thinking about a fully free tier supported by adverts

By David Nield Published 11 July 26

How many ads would you be prepared to put up with if it meant you could access some Disney+ content for free?

A woman out of focus in the background touches the word AI, lit up in glowing yellow light, in the foreground. The woman is wearing smart glasses

Has the AI novelty worn off? Heavy daily usage has plummeted 31% in the past year, according to new survey

By David Nield Published 11 July 26

A revealing new Future survey suggests users are cooling on the idea of AI, for a variety of different reasons.

'We've come full circle now': Netflix’s transformation into cable is almost complete as it ponders always-on channels to boost viewer engagement

By David Nield Published 10 July 26

Netflix is apparently considering live channels rolling around the clock to keep audiences watching.

A hand holding a phone showing ChatGPT's voice mode

Got ChatGPT’s new voice mode? Here's how to check — and 5 things you should try first

By David Nield Published 9 July 26

All ChatGPT users are getting access to the new AI voice model, and there's plenty you can do with it.

A robot in front of a digital screen, touching some of the symbols with its outstretched finger

Scientists say AI is falling for 'alien hoaxes' too easily — and that's a problem for research

By David Nield Published 8 July 26

An AI that was stress-tested by researchers confidently said it had seen signatures of life when they weren't in the data.

Steam Machine users are reporting 'red line of death' issues, but there's now an official fix - and it's surprisingly easy

By David Nield Published 7 July 26

Find out what you need to do if your Steam Machine is displaying a worrying red indicator light.

The Nothing Ear and Nothing Ear (a) against a purple backdrop.

The Nothing Ear 3(a) earbuds are almost here — and an unofficial leak just gave us an early look at them

By David Nield Published 6 July 26

The Nothing Ear 3(a) are launching tomorrow, and here's what to expect in terms of their design.

Nokia's new retro-styled feature phones have AI buttons for some reason — and users are dismissing the odd feature as 'useless' and 'dumb'

By David Nield Published 5 July 26

HMD has unveiled four new feature phones, but there are question marks over the inclusion of an AI button.

Two phones on a yellow background showing the glanceable directions in Google Maps

Google Maps may soon be able to replace Uber Eats and DoorDash by letting you order food from restaurants right in the app

By David Nield Published 4 July 26

Code found hidden in the latest version of Google Maps for Android points to an AI-powered food ordering system.

End of an era — the historic PlayStation factory that manufactured 24 billion gaming discs is already being turned into a micro-optics lab, just days after Sony announced its digital push

By David Nield Published 3 July 26

Sony is losing no time in figuring out what's next for its massive disc-making plant in Thalgau, Austria.

WhatsApp should freeze username rollout as it could ‘increase cybercrimes’, says India — but Meta claims impersonation isn’t an issue

By David Nield Published 2 July 26

The great WhatsApp username rush is on, but there may be problems with scammers and impersonations.

SpaceX offers half-price Starlink internet plans in Memphis to quell backlash to its Colossus data centers — as it promises to 'continue to invest in the area'

By David Nield Published 1 July 26

If you live near one of the big xAI data centers in Tennessee, you might be able to get a sweet Starlink deal.

I just reserved my WhatsApp username — here are 5 important things you need to know about the process

By David Nield Published 30 June 26

Reservations are already opening up for WhatsApp usernames, and here's what you need to bear in mind.

The first Fitbit Air update could fix a major frustration — but Google has shut off a workaround for avoiding the new Google Health app

By David Nield Published 29 June 26

Your Fitbit Air is about to get more reliable and accurate, but there's bad news if you're still clinging to the old Fitbit app.

A hand holding an Android phone showing its earthquake alerts system

Google says Android's built-in earthquake warning system alerted 11.4 million people before the Venezuelan earthquake hit — here's how to find it on your phone

By David Nield Published 29 June 26

Android's Earthquake Alerts System is now in place on more than 2.5 billion phones worldwide, Google says.

SpaceX could be planning to offer a Starlink mobile network for consumers, reports say — but some experts think it's pie in the sky

By David Nield Published 28 June 26

A new report sheds more light on a potential mobile network offering from SpaceX, though it's not clear how it would work.

'We don’t believe this kind of government access process should become the long-term default': OpenAI unveils big GPT-5.6 upgrades for ChatGPT, but you can't use them yet

By David Nield Published 27 June 26

As the US government wants to test OpenAI's new models itself, users won't be getting access to GPT-5.6 for the time being.

A MacBook screen showing macOS 27 Golden Gate

I've been testing macOS 27 in beta — here's are 3 reasons why it's a bigger upgrade than you might think

By David Nield Published 27 June 26

Based on the time I've spent with it, macOS 27 Golden Gate is an update that's worth looking forward to later in 2026.

Researchers invent 'new type of pixel' that could create displays that double as cameras — and the internet's first thought is 'what could go wrong?'

By David Nield Published 27 June 26

ETH Zurich researchers have found a way to both emit and analyze light from the same surface.

ICYMI: the 7 biggest tech stories of the week, from GTA 6 pre-orders to our Oura Ring 5 review

By David Nield Published 27 June 26

Need to catch up on everything that happened over the last seven days? We've got you covered.

AI just helped researchers read a 2,000-year-old Mount Vesuvius scroll that’s too charred to ever be opened — as X-ray images reveal ancient stoic philosophy

By David Nield Published 25 June 26

Researchers are getting new insights into life and literature from the first century, via previously inaccessible text.

A hand holding a phone showing The White House app

'I deleted it and it came immediately back': White House staff are having an official app foisted on to their phones and they hate it

By David Nield Published 25 June 26

The controversial White House app is a compulsory install for a lot of federal workers, who aren't best pleased.

Is your Amazon Echo haunted? Viral video captures ‘terrifying’ moment the smart speaker emits ‘guttural sounds’ during a simple family bedtime ritual

By David Nield Published 24 June 26

The new and improved Alexa+ seems to have got a bit too expressive in a counting task.

‘A nightmare for repairability’: Early Google Home Speaker unboxing reveals design choice that many users won't be happy with

By David Nield Published 24 June 26

According to an early look at the new Google Home Speaker, there's a controversial choice regarding the power cable.

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